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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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20211
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Subject: Irrigation and Drainage Engineering × Author: Subhasree, N × Start date: 2018 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    GIS integrated site-specific fertigation recommendations for Instructional farm, KCAET, Tavanur
    (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, KCAET, Tavanur, 2021) Subhasree, N; Sajeena, S
    Excessive application of fertilizers can cause wastage of fertilizer which increases input cost and environmental pollution. Implementation of Precision Agriculture through site specific nutrient management is the best suitable solution to increase nutrient application efficiency and thereby increase crop productivity. Site Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) is the real time feeding of crops with nutrients while recognizing the spatial variability within the fields. In this context a study on “GIS Integrated Site-Specific Fertigation Recommendations for Instructional Farm, KCAET, Tavanur” was conducted. Delineation of the study area was done with the help of cadastral map of KCAET campus and coordinates of the corner of the study which were found using hand held GPS during the study. Sampling points were located by using gridding tool. The soil samples were collected at the 40 sampling points and analysed for the soil chemical properties such as pH, Electric Conductivity, Available Nitrogen, Available Phosphorous, Available Potassium, Boron and Sulphur by using standard methods. Spatial variability maps of soil chemical properties were prepared by using Inverse Distance Weighing method of interpolation tool in spatial analyst tool of Arc tool box in ArcGIS. Based on soil analytical values, site specific nutrient recommendations were calculated to each grid for Coconut, Banana and different vegetables by Site Specific Soil Nutrient Calculator (SSSNC). It is a winForm Windows application created with the help of Objective-C using Visual studio 2019. Based on nutrient index rating given by Meena et al., (2006), potassium and phosphorous were found in the range of ‘medium fertility’ (1.67-2.33), nitrogen and sulphur were under ‘low fertility’ (<1.67) and boron was found to be under high fertility range (>2.33) in the study area. According to the criteria given by Wilding et al., (1985), pH was found to be least variable whereas nitrogen and boron were moderately variable and the remaining parameters such as organic carbon, phosphorous, potassium and sulphur were found to be most variable parameters in the study area. The maps and the Site-Specific Soil Nutrient (SSSN) App which were developed during the study will help farmers to make better site-specific nutrient recommendations. From this study, it can be concluded that implementation of site-specific fertigation recommendations can eliminate the excessive application of fertilizers and a significant amount of fertilizer can be saved when compared to Package of Practice/ adhoc recommendation.